System for providing environmental condition information to vehicles and related methods

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for communicating weather related information to a vehicle has been developed. The invention includes, a navigational positioning system that provides the location of the vehicle and a receiver for receiving weather related data at the vehicle that includes road conditions, atmospheric conditions, weather warnings and watches, and forecast conditions. The weather related data is associated with a geographic grid that is made of a plurality of cells. The invention&#39;s processor determines if the weather related data is associated with the vehicle location and displays the weather related data to the vehicle&#39;s occupants.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and therefore claims the benefitof and priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/673,569, thatwas filed on Nov. 9, 2012, which was a continuation of, and thereforeclaimed the benefit of and priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/037,265 that was filed on Feb. 26, 2008, which is a continuation of,and therefore claimed the benefit of and priority to, U.S. applicationSer. No. 11/495,078, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,847,708, that was filed on Jul.28, 2006, which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/721,701 that was filed on Sep. 29, 2005, all of whichare incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the distribution ofenvironmental condition information to vehicles, and particularly, thedistribution of real-time and site-specific alert information.

BACKGROUND ART

The importance of weather reporting and forecasting in our daily livescannot be contested. A large percentage of the people in the UnitedStates watch their local evening news on a nightly basis to see thelocal weather report and forecast. This information may then used tomake decisions regarding what to wear, what to do, and, in travel, whereand when it is safe to travel. Under certain circumstances, such as inthe case of severe weather, some people may find themselves insituations where they are making life and death decisions based upon theweather information they have available to them.

This information is particularly important to travelers on the road, onthe water or in the air. Severe weather may arise abruptly, giving thetraveler very little warning and few options for safe travel. For carsand trucks, road conditions change as a result of weather events such asrain or sleet.

Travelers may obtain weather data reported by television stations ornetworks prior to their journeys and plan accordingly. Local televisionstations, as well as the national networks, obtain weather data from theNational Weather Service (NWS) which maintains a network of radarinstallations located at approximately one hundred thirty-eight sitesthroughout the United States. Observers at each of these installationsmonitor the weather conditions within their area and provide hourlyteletyped messages to subscribers, typically through a third partyweather service provider such as GTE Contel, a subsidiary of GTEGovernment Systems. In addition, other services provide lightning strikeinformation on a subscription basis, such as through GlobalAtmospherics, Arizona, U.S.A.

The weather information provided by any one or a combination of theabove services may be synthesized at a local television station into anunderstandable format for presentation to the public. In general, themeteorological data is gathered at the local television station andcombined with image maps of a geographical region to generate a weatherimage, i.e., a graphical illustration of the weather. In addition, thelocal temperatures for various communities or cities within the viewingarea of the station may also be generated on the weather image. Asequence of these composite weather images can be looped to createweather animation. The local television station may then broadcast theweather images to viewers.

Although the current weather reporting and forecasting systems used bytelevision stations and networks have much benefit, they may not providerelevant weather information during severe weather, or when weathermanifests differently than forecasts. In such circumstances the weatherforecasts obtained prior to traveling are rendered useless. This isparticularly true when it comes to the existence of severe weather whicharises quickly without much warning, as is often the case withtornadoes. It is well known that tornadoes and other types of severeweather can strike quickly without much prior notice. The informationprovided by the television stations and networks regarding these typesof severe weather are seldom provided in a real-time fashion and aregenerally not detailed as to the specific location or direction of theweather front. Therefore, travelers are often not given sufficientwarning to adequately prepare for the weather in order to protect theirproperty or find a safe refuge for themselves.

Travelers may obtain weather warnings from a radio broadcast from a carradio, if the radio is on and tuned to the proper station. Moreover, theweather information that is provided is often provided on a county widebasis which, depending on the size of the county, the actual path of thesevere weather through a county, and the position of the listenerswithin the county, may be irrelevant.

An alternative source of weather information is through weather radiossuch as the Realistic Weather Radio Alert III, Model No. 12-140,distributed through “Radio Shack,” a division of the Tandy Corporation.In general, weather radios may provide listeners with prerecorded orlive weather updates on an essentially continuous basis. The weatherradios receive the weather information updates which are broadcasts bythe national Weather Service (NWS) from local transmitters usingspecific frequencies designated by the Federal Communication Commission(FCC). The weather updates usually comprise regular weather informationwhich is prerecorded and then broadcast, except for the issuance ofsevere weather watches or warnings. In those cases, a prerecorded (orsometimes live) watch or warning message is preceded by a tone (e.g., a1,000 cycle tone) that is manually activated at the broadcast station.The tone weather radios that are turned on and within the range of thebroadcasted signal may receive the tone which activates an audible alarmon the radio. The audible alarm is typically not distinctive as towhether it represents a watch and warning, nor does the audible alarmindicate the type or severity of the severe weather. The alarm willusually continue until the user pushes an alert key or button on theweather radio. It is noted that NWS personnel are responsible for bothmanually recording of the audio messages for broadcast and the manuallyactivating of the tone. However, most automobiles are not equipped withsuch devices.

Real-time, site-specific distribution of weather information has beendescribed previously in co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,699, issued Jan.25, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 6,275,774, issued Aug. 21, 2001; U.S. Pat. No.6,493,633, issued Dec. 10, 2002; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,490,525, issuedDec. 3, 2002. Those references teach a remote unit that receivesinformation from the distribution network and provides an alert to theuser. In some embodiments, the remote units are mobile units andprovided with some programming to allow the remote unit to determinebased upon input from a global positioning system (GPS) whetherinformation is relevant to it. Weather data is received by a serversystem which encodes the data into a database in the form of a gridwhere grid cells are associated with geographic areas. This database istransmitted over a distribution network which could be over a cellularnetwork, a land line network, a satellite network or any combinationthereof, where eventually it is received by the remote units whichdecode the data. In some embodiments, remote units may includeprogramming that allows the remote unit to interpret and display data.Such systems find use with emergency response personnel and similarorganizations that may be able to afford such equipment.

Such remote units might be costly and complex for use in cars owned andoperated by the average consumer. Nevertheless, drivers on the roadstill need the information while they are traveling. Moreover, becauseof the need to focus one's attention on the road, the informationpresented to the driver must be succinct and provide the driver withonly the information he or she needs. In other words, the system mustalert the driver to conditions and require the driver to perform anyinterpretation of data. To solve this problem, remote units are designedto perform some, if not all, of the weather interpretation functions todisplay and alert the user in the most concise manner possible, eitherthrough visual or aural cues. This requires a complex device to enablethe remote unit to perform this function.

There are vehicles being marketed today that are equipped withGPS-responsive navigation systems. Such systems provide geo-locationinformation as well is vehicle motion data. Vehicles are also beingmarketed with satellite radio receivers that allow users to receivesignals distributed by a satellite distribution network. A system may beimplemented which integrates these two systems and provides real-time,site-specific alerts to travelers, while at the same time avoiding costand complexity of more robust weather messaging systems. Such a systemcould be also be achieved by integrating a suitably enabled stand-alonedevice with existing navigation and satellite radio systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In some aspects, the invention relates to an apparatus for communicatingweather related information comprising: a navigational positioningsystem that provides the location of a vehicle; a receiver for receivingweather related data at the vehicle, where the weather related datacomprises, road conditions, atmospheric conditions, weather warnings andwatches, and forecast conditions, where the weather related data isassociated with a geographic grid comprised of a plurality of cells; aprocessor that determines if the weather related data is associated withthe vehicle location; and a display device that displays the weatherrelated data associated with the vehicle location.

In other aspects, the invention relates to a system for receiving andprocessing environmental information related to a vehicle comprising: areceiver configured for receiving data associated with a plurality ofgrid cells, where the data comprises weather conditions, roadconditions, and weather warnings and watches in said plurality of gridcells; means for providing a geographic position of said vehicle; and acomputer system having a memory configured with processor-readableinstructions to cause said computer system to receive the geographicposition of the vehicle and determine if the received data associatedwith a plurality of grid cells is relevant to said geographic positionof said vehicle.

In other aspects, the invention relates to an apparatus forcommunicating weather related information comprising: means fordetermining the location of a vehicle; means for receiving weatherrelated data associated with a geographic cell grid, where the weatherrelated data comprises at least two of meteorological data, roadcondition data, road status data, and traffic data; and means forprocessing the weather related data based on the location of the vehicleto determine the relevant weather related data to an end user; and meansfor displaying the relevant weather related data to the end user.

In other aspects, the invention relates to an apparatus forcommunicating weather related information comprising: a globalpositioning system (GPS) that provides the location of an automobilebased on the automobile's current latitude and longitude; a satelliteradio receiver for receiving weather related data associated with ageographic cell grid at the automobile, where the weather related datacomprises, threatening road condition data, threatening atmosphericcondition data, National Weather Service (NWS) weather warning and watchdata, and current and forecast weather condition data; a microprocessorthat filters the weather related data based on the location of thevehicle and stored preferences to determine the relevant weather relateddata associated with the vehicle's present location and the vehicle'santicipated future location; and a visual display device that displaysthe relevant weather related data associated with the vehicle location

In other aspects, the invention relates to a system for providingweather related data to mobile users, comprising: a central processorthat receives, processes and stores weather related data comprising,meteorological data, and road status data; a data distribution networkthat provides weather related data to multiple mobile users; and wherethe weather related data is formatted to allow sorting to determinerelevant weather related data based on the mobile users location.

In other aspects, the invention relates to a computer system forproviding environmental information to one or more mobile remote userscomprising: a memory configured with processor-readable instructions toexecute a method comprising, receiving environmental data, saidenvironmental data being at least two of meteorological data, roadcondition data, road status data, and traffic data; processing theenvironmental data based on a geographic grid template comprising aplurality of cells, to determine which of the cells are affected by theenvironmental data; assigning an indicator to the plurality of cells ofthe geographic grid representing the environmental data associated withthe plurality of cells, where the indicator represents at least two ofmeteorological conditions, road conditions, road status conditions, ortraffic conditions; and outputting said assigned indicator to adistribution network for distribution to one or more remote mobileusers.

In other aspects, the invention relates to a method for providingenvironmental information to one or more mobile remote users comprising:step for receiving environmental data selected from at least two of thegroup comprising meteorological data, road condition data, road statusdata, and traffic data; step for processing the environmental data basedon a geographic grid template comprising a plurality of cells, todetermine which of the cells are affected by the environmental data;step for assigning a status indicator each of the cells that representsthe conditions of that cell based on the environmental data; and stepfor outputting the status indicator to a distribution network fordistribution to one or more remote mobile users.

Other aspects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

It should be noted that identical features in different drawings areshown with the same reference numeral.

FIG. 1 is a functional diagram of the system architecture according toan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional diagram of an matrix encoder according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a functional diagram of a remote system according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a functional diagram of a matrix decoder according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5A is an illustrative screen capture of a computer graphicdepicting an exemplary grid overlaying a geographic area.

FIG. 5B is an illustrative screen capture of a computer graphicdepicting an exemplary grid overlaying a geographic area wherein matrixcells are not defined for a body of water.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method used by theremote system decoder to initiate decoding of a matrix message.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method used by theremote system decoder to decode a matrix message.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary method used by the remotesystem decoder in providing forecast, site-specific environmentalcondition information.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The various embodiments of the present invention and their advantagesare best understood by referring to FIGS. 1 through 8 of the drawings.The elements of the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasisinstead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of theinvention. Throughout the drawings, like numerals are used for like andcorresponding parts of the various drawings.

As used herein the term “device” is intended to mean a single piece ofequipment, contained with a single housing. The term “system” isintended to mean a collection of components (which may be apparatuses,devices, or subsystems) that communicate or interoperate with oneanother to accomplish a function or set of functions. A system may bedistributed or by contained within a “device.”

Furthermore, reference in the specification to “an embodiment,” “oneembodiment,” “various embodiments,” or any variant thereof means that aparticular feature or aspect of the invention described in conjunctionwith the particular embodiment is included in at least one embodiment ofthe present invention. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in oneembodiment,” “in another embodiment,” or variations thereof in variousplaces throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring toits respective embodiment.

With this in mind, this invention may be provided in other specificforms and embodiments without departing from the essentialcharacteristics as described herein. The embodiments described above areto be considered in all aspects as illustrative only and not restrictivein any manner. The appended claims rather than the foregoing descriptionindicate the scope of the invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a system for providing real-time site specificweather information in accordance with the present invention isillustrated. The system 10 comprises a matrix encoder 11 incommunication with distribution network 13. In turn distribution network13 is in communication with one or more remote systems 15. Matrixencoder 11 receives meteorological data 12 from a variety of sourcesincluding weather information for a geographic area which is relevant toone or more of the remote systems 15. Matrix encoder 11 may also receiveroad status or road condition data 14 for a geographic area relevant toone or more remote systems 15. The various data 12, 14 are processed bymatrix encoder 11 to construct a threat matrix which is a compilation ofinterpreted weather and road condition and status data and transmit thethreat matrix to one or more remote systems 15 over distribution network13. Remote systems 15 process the received threat matrix to provideweather or road condition alerts to users traveling in, or about totravel in, the geographic area affected, or may be affected by suchweather or road conditions.

An illustration of an exemplary matrix encoder 11 is provided by thefunctional diagram of FIG. 2. Exemplary matrix encoder 11 includesencoding program 202 in accordance with the present invention. As shown,the matrix encoder 11 is preferably configured as a special purposecomputer or other apparatus suitable for executing the program codeembodied within the encoding program 202 so as to impart thefunctionality described herein and those other functionalities necessaryfor the operation of the present invention as would be apparent to oneof ordinary skill in the art. The matrix encoder 11 further includes aprocessor 203 that can communicate with the other elements within thematrix encoder 11 via system interface 201. An input device 205, forexample, a keyboard or mouse, is used to input data from a user, and ascreen display device 207, for example, a monitor, is used to outputdata to the user. A memory 213 within the matrix encoder 11 contains theencoding program 202 for imparting the functions described herein. Inaddition, the memory 213 includes a conventional operating system 208that communicates with the encoding program 202 and enables execution ofthe encoding program 202 by the processor 203. A communication linkinterface 215 is provided for interfacing the matrix encoder 11 withother related systems for purposes such as receiving meteorological dataand road status data, or transmitting status matrix to the distributionnetwork 13. Lastly, a hard disk 217 may be provided as a nonvolatilememory for storing information such as a matrix database 212 asdescribed in more detail below. It will be appreciated by those skilledin the art that matrix encoder 11 may be also achieved by using acluster of two or more computers in communication, as may be necessaryto handle the data.

Matrix encoder 11 is configured to receive meteorological data and roadstatus/road condition data via communication link interface 215, oralternatively, via manual input through input device 205. Meteorologicaldata 12 include data on weather phenomena that are of interest totravelers. Non-limiting examples of such data are lightning strikelocations, precipitation observation data, precipitation forecasts,hail, visibility, cloud cover, wind data, wind shear, storm warnings,flood warnings, and snow data. Those skilled in the relevant arts willappreciate that such data may be obtained from a variety of sources.Some non-limiting examples of meteorological data sources include, theNational Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) via its NOAAport,National Weather Service (NWS), National Lightning Detection Network,the Rapid Update Cycle (RUC) model available from the National Centersfor Environmental Prediction (NCEP). These data are available over anelectronic communications network using suitable transfer protocols,e.g., file transfer protocol, or the like, and may be automaticallyretrieved by matrix encoder 11 which is configured with control logic tocause encoder 11 to execute that function. Alternatively, otherprocessors may be configured with control logic to retrieve the requireddata, collate the data into a format and transfer that data to matrixencoder. Matrix encoder 11 is preferably adaptable to accept and processdata in whatever format may be available from any source ofmeteorological or road data, currently existing or hereafter developed.

Road status data 14 includes, without limitation, road closings andopenings, whether a road is under construction, or repair. Presentationof information from this data allows users to plan alternate routes.These data are available from the Federal and state departments oftransportation, municipal and county public works, and the AmericanAutomobile Association (AAA). Also an electronic communications networkmay be used to automatically retrieve road status data in a mannersimilar to that used to retrieve meteorological data.

Road condition data relates to whether there may be ice, water, or othersubstances on a road that present a hazard to safe driving. This datamay be generated by control logic in matrix encoder 11. For example, ifan area experiences rain, matrix encoder may be configured to indicatethat the roads in that area are wet. Similarly, if meteorological datashow that temperatures in an area are below freezing and that the areahas had or will experience precipitation, matrix encoder may beconfigured to also indicate that the roads are icy. In addition, roadcondition data may be provided by observation and automaticallyretrieved via communication link interface 215. Similarly, those skilledin the arts will appreciate that traffic alert data may also be obtainedfrom a variety of sources.

It should be noted that an optional human operator 16 may also manuallyinput both meteorological data and road status/condition data, as wellas enter adjustments or correction to the received data in the case thatretrieved data is inconsistent or in error. This may be achieved throughinput device 205.

The data are received by or input into the matrix encoder 11 andprocessed in accordance with control logic comprising matrix encodingprogram 202. Specifically, meteorological data, including measurements,observations, and forecasts, along with locations, and forecastlocations of events, are retrieved and control logic within matrixencoding program 202 is configured to render “presence” decisions basedupon predefined criteria.

Matrix encoding program 202 is also configured to construct a gridcomprising a plurality of cells each of which are associated with asegment of the land area throughout which the real-time weather alertmessages are to be distributed. Each cell is preferably referenced oridentified by at least one latitude coordinate and one longitudecoordinate within the cell. In one exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, cell reference coordinates are the geographic points at whichthe centers of the cells are overlayed. In another embodiment, thereference coordinates are any of the corners of the cells. In a furtherembodiment, the reference coordinates may be the midpoints of the cellboundaries. It will, thus, be apparent to those skilled in the relevantart that the cells may be identified by any coordinate within the cell.

The size of the cells can be defined by the user, depending upon thedegree of information resolution desired. In one embodiment, forexample, cells may be 10 km×10 km. An exemplary grid structure is shownin FIG. 5A wherein a Platte-carre projection of a geographic area 501 isoverlayed with a grid 502 comprising a plurality of cells 504.Platte-carre projection lines of latitude and longitude are shown asstraight and are evenly spaced. The cells 504 comprising the exemplarygrid are ordered according to rows 507, which correspond to lines oflatitude. Thus, all cells in a row have the same latitude from column tocolumn. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the grid maybe implemented by ordering cells along lines of longitude, or columns,as well.

In either case, it is preferable to keep cells 504 at a uniform size, soaccount must be taken of the longitude in constructing the grid sincedistance between lines of longitude decreases with increasing latitudevalues. For example, in one embodiment where the grid cells are orderedalong lines of latitude, cell longitudes vary from row to row so thatcorresponding cells in differing rows are laterally offset with respectto each other (See FIG. 5A) presenting a “slanted column.” In this casewhere the grid is ordered according to rows, columns of longitude may beconverted from an x-coordinate with a multiplier specific to the rowthat may be calculated by a formula every time a cell is accessed, orthe multiplier may be provided in a look-up table.

In another embodiment, it may be desired to decrease the size of thedatabase. In applications that do not require or desire information tobe transmitted to water-borne vessels, cells do not need to be definedfor areas comprising bodies of water greater than 100 sq. miles. FIG. 5Billustrates a notional grid 511 overlaying an area that includes such abody of water 513.

By comparing the coordinates defining the locations and predicted pathof the meteorological phenomena to the grid on a cell by cell basis,each cell within the matrix that is affected by the phenomena can beidentified. Furthermore, matrix encoding program 210 may be configuredwith control logic to determine “presence” indicators for the identifiedcells that the phenomena affect at the current time, and that thephenomena will affect in some future time. Presence indicators aresimply characters that indicate the presence of meteorological phenomenain a cells according to a pre-determined legend, an example of which isdiscussed in greater detail below. A presence indicator may also contain“characteristic” information indicating the intensity or severity, orduration of the event. Each cell is associated with one or more presenceindicators. The grid cells combined with the meteorological phenomenapresence information associated with identified cells comprise a threatmatrix. The threat matrix may be a database as would be appreciate bythose skilled in the arts.

In one exemplary embodiment, meteorological phenomena are associatedwith grid cells in the following manner. Each cell includes 32 bits ofdata. These 32 bits are divided into fields representing the differentmeteorological phenomena that might exist. Each field may be 1, 2, or 3bits long depending on how many values are desired to encode for a givenfield. Table 1 below shows a non-limiting example of a scheme fordistributing bits among the fields. Bit 0 is the least significant bit,and bit 31 is the most significant bit.

TABLE I Exemplary matrix cell definition BITS FIELD 0-2 Precipitation 3Hail 4-5 Visibility 6-7 Storm path 8-9 Wind 10-11 NWS floodwatch/warning 12-13 NWS thunderstorm 14-15 NWS tornado watch/warning 16Snow accumulation 17-18 Forecasted precipitation 19 Lightning 20 Icyroads 21 Road closings 22-31 Miscellaneous

The precipitation field represents current precipitation. In thisexample, the field comprises three bits with at least six possiblevalues to represent. Possible values include: 0 (No precipitation); 1(Light rain); 2 (Heavy rain); 3 (Mixed precipitation (including ice)); 4(Light snow); and 5 (Heavy snow).

The hail field is only one bit and if this bit is set, then the cell isunder threat of severe hail. In this embodiment, this could representhail that is currently detected in the cell, or it could indicate that asevere hail storm is approaching the cell. To determine which is thecase, the value of the Storm path field must be examined as will bedescribed below.

The next field indicates the visibility within the cell. In thisembodiment possible values may be: 0 (Visibility un-obscured byweather); 1 (Fog); 2 (Heavy fog); and 3 (Very low visibility).

Storm path field is used to indicate whether a convective storm (as maybe identified by a SCIT) is located within the cell boundaries, or, ifnot present in the cell, how soon the storm will arrive at the cell.Possible values may be as follows: 0 (No storm); 1 (Storm in 20minutes); 2 (Storm in 10 minutes); 3 (Storm present).

The Wind field serves a dual role in this embodiment. If a convectivestorm with twisting wind is approaching a given cell, this field is setto 3 and the expected time of arrival is encoded in the Storm Pathfield. Otherwise, this field is used to indicate current wind strengthin the cell. Possible values in this field may be as follows: 0 (Calm ormoderate wind); 1 (High winds); 2 (Dangerous winds); 3 (Twisting stormapproaching (i.e., a convective storm with a significant amount of windshear detected)).

It should be noted, that in this example, the Storm path field ispreferably examined in conjunction with the Hail field and the Windfield, because the latter two fields can indicate the type of storm thatis approaching the cell. For example, if the Hail field is set to 1 andthe Storm path field is set to 2, then a hail storm is expected toarrive in the cell in 10 minutes. If the Wind field is set to 3 (whichis defined as “twisting wind”) and the Storm Path field is set to 1,then a storm with dangerously twisting wind is expected to arrive in 20minutes. It will be appreciated that because both types of storm usethis one field to indicate their arrival time, some information could belost in this embodiment. For example, if a hail storm is currently inthe cell and a twisting storm will arrive in 20 minutes, the Storm Pathfield will contain the value 3 because of the hail storm, and the cellwill not be associated with the twisting storm that is 20 minutes away,and that alert may not be provided by the remote system. In such cases,the remote system should be configured to “assume the worst”, i.e., thatboth the hail storm and the twisting storm are nearby.

In this example, only the “twisting wind” value (numeric value of 3) inthe Wind field represents a convective storm whose arrival time isindicated in the Storm Path field. If the Wind field contains a valueother than 3, then that only reflects current wind conditions within thecell, and the Storm Path field will have a value of zero unless the Hailfield is set. Also, it should be noted that a “twisting storm” is notnecessarily a tornado. Whether a tornado is present, or may be presentsometime in the future, is derived from NWS watch or warning data asdescribed below.

The Flood watch/warning field is used to indicate that the cell iswithin (or includes some portion of) a county, or other geo-politicaldivision that is under a flood watch or warning. Possible valuesinclude: 0 (No watch or warning); 1 (flood watch); 2 (flood warning).Similarly, the Thunderstorm watch/warning field may be used to indicatethat the cell is within (or includes some portion of) a county, or othergeo-political division, that is under a thunderstorm watch or warning.Possible values include: 0 (No watch or warning); 1 (thunderstormwatch); and 2 (thunderstorm warning). And finally, the Tornadowatch/warning field is used to indicate that the cell is within (orincludes some portion of) a county, or other geo-political division,that is under a tornado watch or warning. Possible values may be: 0 (Nowatch or warning); 1 (tornado watch); and 2 (tornado warning).

The Snow accumulation field indicates that there is an accumulation ofsnow on the ground within the cell. This does not necessarily imply thatit is currently snowing in the cell. This field can have two possiblevalues, 1 for some amount of snow accumulation and 0 for no snowaccumulation.

The forecasted precipitation field is used to indicate expectedprecipitation between current moment and some fixed amount of time inthe future. Possible values may be as follows: 0 (No precipitationanticipated; 1 (Rain forecast); 2 (Mixed precipitation forecast); and 3(Snow forecast).

The next three fields in this embodiment may be each one bit in sizewhich simply indicates presence or no presence. The Lightning field isset to 1 if a lightning strike has been detected within the cell in thelast 10 minutes, and 0 otherwise. The Icy roads field is set to 1 if anicy road hazard exists within the cell, and 0 otherwise. Last, the Roadclosings field is set to 1 if some roads within the cell are closed due,0 otherwise. The remaining bits may be used for, as the field suggestsfor any other information, or additional weather phenomena categories.

It will be understood that the field definitions described above arenon-limiting. The fields could represent any aspect of meteorologicaldata, road condition data, road status data or traffic data. Forexample, fields could be designed to indicate current or forecasted windshear events, temperature extremes, slippery road conditions, or anyother similar events or conditions.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the relevant arts with thebenefit of reading this disclosure that the above described system andmethod obtains meteorological data, analyzes it, and determines whethera given category of meteorological phenomena affects or will affect aspecified geographic area. The resulting output is simply a yes or nomessage, and perhaps an indication of the severity or duration withwhich phenomena affect an area. Thus, the matrix encoder interprets thesignificance of weather phenomena for a geographic area, which resultsin a reduced processing and memory requirement for the receiving remotesystems. This also advantageously reduces bandwidth required for thetransmission of the information over the distribution network 13.

Once the matrix is encoded, it is then conveyed in a data stream to theremote systems via the distribution network. Matrix encoder 11constructs matrix messages associated with the threat matrix that arecommunicated to distribution network 13. The matrix data may betransmitted to distribution network 13 in a variety of formats. However,it is preferable to reduce processing and software requirements, andthus cost and complexity, of the remote systems. Therefore, it ispreferable to further reduce the data that the remote systems arerequired to receive and process.

With reference to FIG. 3, an exemplary remote system 15 includeswireless network receiver 302 and navigation device 306 bothcommunicating with matrix decoder 304 which in turn controls displaydevice 308. Wireless network receiver 302 can be implemented with aradio receiver that is configured to receive and decode signalstransmitted via a wireless network. In one embodiment the wirelessnetwork is a satellite radio network, for example, networks conducted byXM Satellite Radio, Inc. or Sirius Satellite Radio, Inc. In such case,wireless network receiver 302 is configured to receive, decode anddemodulate signals that are transmitted over such networks according tothat networks communication protocols, as would be understood by thoseskilled in the arts. Wireless network receiver 302 receives and decodesthe network signals carrying matrix data messages and relays themessages to matrix decoder device 304.

It should be noted that distribution network 13 also can be implementedby a variety of different communication mediums such as, but not limitedto, wireless (including cellular, WiFi, 802.15, Bluetooth®, and thelike), cable television, pager, land-line telephone, cellular telephone,etc. It would be apparent to skilled artisans that in those embodimentswhere distribution network is not a wireless network, wireless networkreceiver would be an appropriate land-line counterpart (e.g., modem), oreliminated, depending upon the network communications protocols.

Navigation device 306 is a device that calculates its geographicposition and can also provide the speed and direction of travel of theremote system 15. Navigation device may be implemented 306 with a GlobalPositioning System (GPS) device or other suitable device, e.g., aninertial navigation computing system. Navigation device 306 providesgeographic position of the remote system 15 to matrix decoder 304.

An illustration of an exemplary system for implementing matrix decoder304 is provided at FIG. 4 where matrix decoder comprises a communicationinterface 402, a control processor 406, and a memory 404. Thecommunication link interface 402 provides an interface from wirelessnetwork receiver 302 and navigation device 306 to matrix decoder 304.Matrix messages are provided to the control processor 406 which includesthe control logic for operation of the matrix decoder 304. Brieflystated, the control processor 406 processes the matrix messages byparsing the message data structure and making logical determinations asto the types of alert indications to be provided to the subscriber viadisplay 308. Control processor 406 preferably includes control logic fordiscriminating between matrix messages to ensure that the remote system15 only responds to messages containing alert information relevant tothe remote system 15. As described in greater detail below, this mayinclude comparing the cell identification within the matrix message withposition information received from navigation device 306.

Display device 308 provides means by which to convey the site specificweather information in the storm profile to the end user. Display device308 may include a speaker device for providing audio indication ofweather information in the form of distinctive sounds or prerecordedaudio messages. In addition, display device 308 may include visual meanssuch as a display panel for providing weather information in the form oftextual information or color-coded lights. Such display panel may beimplemented to display electronic graphic images with an Liquid CrystalDisplay (LCD) screen, Light Emitting Diode (LED), cathode ray tube (CRT)or the like.

Remote system 15 may be a unitary device, or, in the alternative, may beimplemented in a non-unitary arrangement of separate components. Forexample, a vehicle equipped with a satellite radio receiver and a GPSdevice may be later equipped with a matrix decoder and associateddisplay device. In such case, matrix decoder 304 could be achieved usinga handheld computer, which includes a display, or the like. In anotherversion, matrix decoder 304 could be a suitably configured wirelesstelephone. Display device may be included with the wireless telephone,or may be a separate component with which the wireless telephonecommunicates. It would be understood by those skilled in the relevantarts that if remote system 15 is a unitary structure, some elements, forexample, communication link interface 402 could be eliminated aswireless receiver, navigation device and matrix decoder may becontrolled by a common control processor, or processors.

As discussed above, the matrix data is communicated to remote systems inthe form of matrix messages. A message may include data for the entirematrix; however, a single message is preferably transmitted encodingonly portions of the matrix data, for example, the values for a singlerow of cells. In one exemplary embodiment, messages are transmitted in a32 bit format for each row of cells. This is done to minimize theeffects of lost or corrupted data. For example, if the system transmitsthe whole matrix as a single message, and the remote system receives allbut one byte, the remote system has no way of knowing what that bytewas, or even which byte was lost. All it knows is that it did notreceive all of the transmitted data. Therefore, the whole matrix messagemust be discarded. Transmitting matrix values in separate messages, aloss of one byte results only in that message being lost, not the entirematrix. Messages are also preferably repeated periodically, even whenthe matrix cell values remain the same, for a number of times toincrease the likelihood that remote systems receive all the datarelevant to the geographic area in which the remote system is travelingto further minimize the effect of missing data.

A secondary benefit of transmitting matrix values as separate row (orcolumn) messages, is that the remote systems only need enough memory andprocessing capability to decode a single row, reducing hardware andsoftware costs. Preferably, remote system 15 memory is also enough tocache a number of nearby cell values as well for cells to which thevehicle might reasonably travel within an update cycle, or the periodwith which updated matrix messages are transmitted. Obviously, in thoseembodiments where the matrix is ordered according to a columns, themessages may represent individual columns of cells.

In addition to sending matrix messages for individual rows, matrixmessages may be sent according to a predefined category of messages. Forexample, one category of matrix messages could be storm messages whichwould include information about storms, such as warnings and locations.Categories could also be based upon types of meteorological phenomena.

The remote system 15 matrix decoder 304 is asynchronous with thetransmission of the matrix message. Therefore, matrix decoder may onlyreceive a partial message. There also may be corrupted data, orinterference. Preferably, the system includes communication protocolsthat allows matrix decoder to identify the beginning of matrix messages.

In one version, the protocol may include the use of a special reservecharacter to indicate the beginning of a message. When this character isread, the matrix decoder is configured to perform certain functionsdepending upon the next byte received after the special character. Aproblem may occur when the reserve character occurs elsewhere in thematrix message. A typical solution would be to cause the decoder to“escape” the character, but this adds to the size of the message foreach instance in which a character is escaped. To avoid the incurrenceof wasted bandwidth because of the increased size of the message, whenthe special reserve character happens to occur elsewhere in the message,it is replaced by replacement character. The replacement character isideally a character that does not occur in the outgoing message and isdynamically determined for each row matrix message. It is identified inthe message in the second message byte. So if the special reservecharacter occurs elsewhere in the message, matrix decoder replaces thatcharacter with the replacement character.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of one process that matrix decoder 304 may use toinitiate decoding of the message. Matrix decoder receives and reads abyte 602. Matrix decoder control logic determines if the byte is amessage start character, and if so, the next message byte is read 604.It should be understood that if the byte is not a message startcharacter, the step 604 is performed again until a message startcharacter is read. Next, matrix decoder control logic determines whetherthe next byte is an end of message (EOM) or an escape character 606, ifso the next byte is stored as the replacement character to be used ifthe reserve character occurs in the message. The next byte is read andas long as it is not a message start, or EOM, the byte is stored in abuffer for later processing 608. When a byte is determined to be theEOM, the message is processed 610.

Because of the size of the row, some form of compression may be desired.For example, a run length compression technique, as would be appreciatedby those skilled in the art. Once the process described with referenceto FIG. 6 is performed and EOM is received, the message stored in thebuffer are extracted and decompressed for processing. Additionally, toprocess messages only relevant to the cells in which the remote systemis, or near. The first byte of the matrix message, therefore, could bethe row, or latitude coordinate corresponding to the row. If the byteindicating the row indicates a row near the remote system currentgeo-position latitude, then the remainder of the message is processed.Subsequently, the columns relevant to the location of the remote systemare read. The data from the relevant cells are stored.

FIG. 7 illustrates the method matrix decoder uses to perform threatmonitoring and alert functions. Matrix decoder obtains geo-position andmotion data, including speed and heading, from the navigation device702. It should be noted that the remote system 15 could be configuredsuch that system speed is obtained from the vehicle speed sensing systemin an alternative embodiment. Next, the threat data for the cellcorresponding to the current position of the remote system, and anappropriate alert is displayed, if required 704. Displayed alertsinclude both aural and visual alerts. Then, if a cell or cells mayaffect the remote system at some time in the future, an appropriatealert is displayed 706. Future time may be any amount of time in thefuture, encompassing the cells in which the remote system may be at thattime in the future, based upon its motion (heading and speed). Becausevehicles tend to change heading, the predicted future time, and thusdistance, may be an area in which the vehicle may be at that futuretime.

For example, and with reference to FIG. 8, as remote system 15 travels,its speed and heading are obtained by the matrix decoder 304. The remotesystem computer is configured with software to calculate a directionalmargin of some δ and apply it to either side of the heading 801 iscomputed, resulting in an overall angular margin of 2δ 803. One or morefuture time (or distance) lines 807 a, b, are computed based upon theremote system's speed. For example, the nearest line 807 a may be thepredicted distance the remote system will travel in 5 minutes, and thedistal line may be the distance the remote system will travel in tenminutes. Any time differential may be used, and any number of futuretime lines may be computed. The result is a “fan-like” area 806 thatencompasses some geographic area. The fan-like area 806 is overlaid uponthe matrix cells 810, 811 and the remote system determines which matrixcells the “fan” 806 intersects, shown as shaded. These cells are thenpresumed to be relevant to the remote user. The data associated witheach of those cells are processed and, if necessary, according to theestimated time in the future that the remote system might enter aparticular cell.

It should be noted that the systems and methods described above mayincorporate a remote system that is non-mobile as well. For example, theremote system disclosed in co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,493,633, which isincorporated by reference herein, discloses a system for real-timedistribution of site-specific weather information, and in particular, areceiving device for receiving the weather information that is intendedfor installation in a building or other fixed structure. The receivingdevice is preprogrammed with a location identifier for its position. Inthis way, it will be able to determine the relevancy of indicator datareceived by it from the distribution network according to the principlesdisclosed above.

Some the components of the above-described system may be implementedwith computers. A computer may be any microprocessor or processor(hereinafter referred to as processor) controlled device, such as, byway of example, personal computers, workstations, servers, clients,mini-computers, main-frame computers, laptop computers, a network of oneor more computers, mobile computers, portable computers, handheldcomputers, palm top computers, set top boxes for a TV, interactivetelevisions, interactive kiosks, personal digital assistants,interactive wireless devices, mobile browsers, or any combinationthereof. The computer may possess input devices such as, by way ofexample, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a microphone, or a touch screen,and output devices such as a computer screen, printer, or a speaker.

The computer may be a uniprocessor or multiprocessor machine.Additionally, the computer includes memory such as a memory storagedevice or an addressable storage medium. The memory storage device andaddressable storage medium may be in forms such as, by way of example, arandom access memory (RAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), adynamic random access memory (DRAM), an electronically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM), a programmable read-only memory(PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), hard disks,floppy disks, laser disk players, digital video disks, compact disks,video tapes, audio tapes, magnetic recording tracks, electronicnetworks, and other devices or technologies to transmit or storeelectronic content such as programs and data.

The computer executes an appropriate operating system such as Linux,Unix, Microsoft® Windows® 95, Microsoft® Windows® 98, Microsoft®Windows® NT, Apple® MacOS®, IBM® OS/2®, and Palm® OS, and embeddedoperating systems such as Windows® CE or and the like. The computer mayadvantageously be equipped with a network communication device such as anetwork interface card, a modem, or other network connection devicesuitable for connecting to one or more networks.

The computer, and the computer memory, may advantageously containcontrol logic, or program logic, or other substrate configurationrepresenting data and instructions, which cause the computer to operatein a specific and predefined manner as, described herein. In particular,the computer programs, when executed, enable a control processor toperform and/or cause the performance of features of the presentinvention. The control logic may advantageously be implemented as one ormore modules. The modules may advantageously be configured to reside onthe computer memory and execute on the one or more processors. Themodules include, but are not limited to, software or hardware componentsthat perform certain tasks. Thus, a module may include, by way ofexample, components, such as, software components, processes, functions,subroutines, procedures, attributes, class components, task components,object-oriented software components, segments of program code, drivers,firmware, micro-code, circuitry, data, and the like.

The control logic conventionally includes the manipulation of data bitsby the processor and the maintenance of these bits within datastructures resident in one or more of the memory storage devices. Suchdata structures impose a physical organization upon the collection ofdata bits stored within computer memory and represent specificelectrical or magnetic elements. These symbolic representations are themeans used by those skilled in the art to effectively convey teachingsand discoveries to others skilled in the art.

The control logic is generally considered to be a sequence ofcomputer-executed steps. These steps generally require manipulations ofphysical quantities. Usually, although not necessarily, these quantitiestake the form of electrical, magnetic, or optical signals capable ofbeing stored, transferred, combined, compared, or otherwise manipulated.It is conventional for those skilled in the art to refer to thesesignals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, text, terms,numbers, records, files, or the like. It should be kept in mind,however, that these and some other terms should be associated withappropriate physical quantities for computer operations, and that theseterms are merely conventional labels applied to physical quantities thatexist within and during operation of the computer.

It should be understood that manipulations within the computer are oftenreferred to in terms of adding, comparing, moving, searching, or thelike, which are often associated with manual operations performed by ahuman operator. It is to be understood that no involvement of the humanoperator may be necessary, or even desirable. The operations describedherein are machine operations performed in conjunction with the humanoperator or user that interacts with the computer or computers.

It should also be understood that the programs, modules, processes,methods, and the like, described herein are but an exemplaryimplementation and are not related, or limited, to any particularcomputer, apparatus, or computer language. Rather, various types ofgeneral purpose computing machines or devices may be used with programsconstructed in accordance with the teachings described herein.Similarly, it may prove advantageous to construct a specializedapparatus to perform the method steps described herein by way ofdedicated computer systems with hard-wired logic or programs stored innonvolatile memory, such as, by way of example, read-only memory (ROM).

In some embodiments, features of the present invention can beimplemented primarily in hardware using, for example, hardwarecomponents such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) orfield-programmable gated arrays (FPGAs). Implementation of the hardwarestate machine so as to perform the functions described herein will beapparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s). In yet anotherembodiment, features of the invention can be implemented using acombination of both hardware and software.

The computer used to implement the remote system, or the elementsthereof, may be an embedded microprocessor. For example, a car radio ordashboard navigation or entertainment system could also comprise anembedded microprocessor configured with control logic as described aboveto execute the functions of the remote system. The output/display systemcould then be the radio or entertainment system speakers, or thenavigation system visual display. Control of the remote system may beachieved by making the radio or navigation system buttons multipurpose.

As described above and shown in the associated drawings, the presentinvention comprises an apparatus for a system for providing weather androad condition alerts to vehicles and related method. While particularembodiments of the invention have been described, it will be understood,however, that the invention is not limited thereto, since modificationsmay be made by those skilled in the art, particularly in light of theforegoing teachings. It is, therefore, contemplated by the appendedclaims to cover any such modifications that incorporate those featuresor those improvements that embody the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of reporting environmental conditioninformation to a remote vehicle comprising: a. assigning a plurality ofindicator values to a plurality of geographic cells to create a threatdata matrix, wherein the indicator values are indicative of certainenvironmental conditions; b. transmitting a threat data message havingat least a portion of the threat data matrix to the remote vehicle; andc. locally processing, at the remote vehicle, the received threat datamatrix to determine the type of alert indications to be provided to auser.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the weather data messageincludes the geographic position of the geographic cells.
 3. The methodof claim 2 wherein the geographic position of the geographic cells isassociated with geographic location of the corners of the geographiccells.
 4. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of receivingthe vehicle's geographic position from a navigational positioning systemand wherein the local processing at the remote vehicle includescomparing the geographic position of the geographic cells with thevehicle geographic position received from the navigational positioningsystem.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the threat data messageindicates a road condition of at least one road in the plurality ofgeographic cells.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the threat datamessage indicates a characteristic of a weather event, saidcharacteristic being at least one of form, duration, or intensity. 7.The method of claim 1 wherein each environmental condition has anassigned indicator value, and each environmental condition representedin the threat data matrix transmitted in the threat data message has anassociated indicator value.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the threatdata message includes indicator values associated with a singlegeographic cell.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the threat datamessage includes indicator values associated with a plurality ofgeographic cells.
 10. The method of claim 1 further including the stepof prioritizing the reporting of environmental conditions to a user. 11.The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of locally storingindicator values for the geographic cells in close proximity to thelocation of the vehicle.
 12. A method for providing environmentalinformation to a remote mobile system comprising: a. receivingenvironmental data; b. processing the environmental data to associatethe environmental data with a plurality of geographic grid cells; c.assigning indicator values to the plurality of geographic grid cells torepresent the environmental conditions of that cell to create anenvironmental condition matrix; and d. outputting at least a portion ofthe environmental condition matrix to a distribution network fordistribution to the remote mobile system for local processing todetermine relevant environmental conditions based upon the remote mobilesystem's location.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein each environmentalcondition has an assigned indicator value and each environmentalcondition represented in the outputted portion of the environmentalcondition matrix has an associated indicator value.
 14. The method ofclaim 12 wherein the remote mobile system is further configured toreceive the remote mobile system's geographic position from anavigational positioning system and wherein the local processingincludes comparing the geographic position of the grid cells with theremote mobile system's geographic position.
 15. The method of claim 12wherein the outputted environmental condition matrix includes indicatorvalues associated with a single grid cell.
 16. The method of claim 12wherein the outputted environmental condition matrix includes indicatorvalues associated with a plurality of grid cells.
 17. An apparatus forcommunicating weather related information comprising: a. a receiver forreceiving matrixed weather related data for a plurality of geographicgrid cells at the vehicle, wherein each of the geographic grid cells isassigned a value indicative of the weather related data; and b. aprocessor at the vehicle that receives vehicle location data and locallydetermines the reportable weather data from the matrixed weather dataassociated with received vehicle location.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17wherein the received matrixed weather data is associated with a singlegeographic cell.
 19. The apparatus of claim 17 further comprising memoryfor storing values indicative of weather related data for the pluralityof grid cells in close proximity to the location of the vehicle.
 20. Theapparatus of claim 17 wherein the received matrixed weather related dataincludes the geographic position of the geographic grid cells.